Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 12, 2016 - Saturday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[3 John 5-8 and Luke 18:1-8]"While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me." [Luke]
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2016 ST. JOSAPHAT [bishop and martyr]
The context for Jesus' story about the persistent widow and the unjust judge is concern about the second coming. This gives a particular light to the question of persistence in prayer. The community was under persecution and was longing for vindication. "How long, O Lord?" Certainly that meaning is clear for our Christian brothers and sisters in Syria and Iraq who have been suffering for the past two years from the ISIS occupation. It seems that liberation is coming but only very slowly, yet their faith is tremendous and their prayer is more than persistent. The "second coming" is not something at the end of time for them.
It is a different matter for those of us who are not dodging bombs and bullets or living in refugee camps. Why should we persist in prayer? It seems to me that any relationship of importance requires communication - persistent communication. Spouses know this from marital experience. Those who treasure friendship know this. Why should it be any different for our relationship to God?The question of Jesus' second coming is important but its timing is unknown. What we have now is a present relationship with the Lord, and it is that relationship that can help us persist in living a good life. It is that relationship that can help us through the inevitable crises that are part of life. We can be grateful that we are not under the kind of persecution being suffered by Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere, but complacency is a dangerous thing. Keeping the relationship with the Lord strong over the long run is the best policy. Luke the Evangelist was making that clear when he wrote, and it is still clear. AMEN